The aim of the research is to establish the potentIal of au approach to formative evaluation which utilizes and develops the skills of teachers. This 'teacher evaluator' approach depends on teachers planning, directing, controlling and carrying out evaluations. A detailed case study of the practice as it developed in one LEA over a three year period was undertaken. The research contributes to the debate about educational evaluation practice in five areas: It advances theory of educational particular reference to the UK. -It identifies an approach which enhances the professionalism of teachers. -Through the publication of a detailed case study it promotes the development of theory from the reality of practice. -It provides the ground work for forging new links between professional educational evaluators and the teaching profession. -It defines an approach to evaluation which has the potential to provide timely, relevant, and effective, formative evaluation. The teacher evaluator approach to evaluation can be seen as a natural extension of the developing research tradition in the UK which was stimulated by the work of Stenhouse. In the UK, partvcularly since Stenhouse published hiS seminal work in 1975, there have been a number of developments in educational evaluation practices particularly in the area of qualitative evaluation through action-research and school self-evaluation. It is the contention of this thesis that the teacher-evaluator approach fills a gap in this developing teacher-researcher tradition - that of LEA-wide project evaluation by teachers. Through careful examination of the evidence collected, the significance of thls development in the teacher~based research tradition, was analysed and subsequently confirmed. An approach such as this, which hands over the power of evaluation to teachers, is especially relevant in the light of current demands for accountability in education. However, the success and effectiveness of the approach was found to be affected by a variety of issues. These issues are covered in detail in the text and relate to three key areas: the framework established for the evaluation which depends on the local context; the role and responsibilities of the teacher-evaluators; the methodology and practices adopted. It is conSidered that this approach prOVides the framework for a new model of educational evaluation which combines the strengths of professional external evaluation with the knowledge and expertise of teachers, and which provides long term benefits for the LEA. ThiS case study is presented as a contribution to the development of an educational research tradition which Stenhouse identifies as essential to the improvement of education. Publication of this research may further stimulate work in thiS area and thus contribute to the advancement of theories relating to teacher-led evaluation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:570887 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Leask, Marilyn |
| Publisher | University of East Anglia |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/10547/135311 |
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